The present invention relates to ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal products. More specifically, the present invention relates to an RTE cereal of reduced density and enhanced perceived sweetness and methods of production. The invention can also find useful application in other foods, especially those which are provided as a collection of individual pieces.
RTE cereals come in a wide variety of classes. Among these classes are puffed or unpuffed, and frosted (e.g., sugar coated) or unfrosted. Similarly, RTE cereals are prepared from a variety of different base cereal mixes. The most common ingredients include grain flour, salt and sugar or other sweeteners. The grain flour usually comes from wheat, corn, oats, barley, and rye. A variety of sugars and other sweeteners are used in the preparation of almost all RTE cereals to impart sweetness to the finished cereal product. Additional flavor may be imparted depending on the particular sweetener used. Brown sugar for example provides a different flavor than refined or processed sugar. In addition, the amount of sugar can also vary greatly with some cereals containing less than 10% and others containing over 40% sugar by weight. While many cereals have all the sugar incorporated into the base cereal mix, some RTE cereals add sugar as a coating in addition to any sugar contained in the base cereal mix.
Typical unfrosted cereals of the type of interest to this invention are made from a base cereal mix containing about 75% by weight of flour, about 14% by weight of processed white sugar/brown sugar mix, and lesser quantities of other ingredients such as maltodextrin, salt, vitamins, minerals, colors and preservatives. These dry ingredients are metered into an extruder along with some water. Typically, the dry ingredients and water are mixed in the extruder, thereby forming a dough. The ensuing dough is extruded at high pressure to form an expanded rope of cereal which is then cut into pieces. The pieces are then dried in a continuous oven and packaged.
Most consumers enjoy cereals with a sweetened flavor; however there are disadvantages to making cereals with too much sugar or artificial sweeteners. First, consumers are more health conscious and try to avoid refined sugars and other simple carbohydrates. In addition, consumers are mindful of avoiding excess calories. Furthermore, highly sweetened cereals have a negative connotation as being children's cereal. Lastly, base cereal mixes that contain large amounts of sugar or artificial sweetener have been found to cause the resulting cereal piece to be undesirably dense. The problem with reducing or eliminating sugar entirely is that the resulting RTE cereal has a very bland flavor and most consumers do not want to take the time and trouble to add their own sugar to the cereal.
In order to provide a pleasingly sweet RTE cereal and yet satisfy the concerns of these consumers, some manufacturers use artificial sweeteners instead of sugar to sweeten the cereal. While the use of artificial sweeteners solves the problem of consuming excess calories, long-term artificial sweetener use may have other deleterious effects on health. In addition, the use of artificial sweeteners may not resolve the problem of undesirably dense cereal pieces.
The invention addresses these matters and determines it is advantageous to produce an RTE cereal with increased perceived sweetness without increasing the amount of sugar. Furthermore, the invention recognizes it would also be desirable to produce a less dense RTE cereal without having to reduce total sugar. Moreover, the invention recognizes it would be highly advantageous to produce an RTE cereal with reduced density and enhanced perceived sweetness while keeping the total amount of sugar substantially unchanged.
It has been determined that by reducing the amount of sugar in the base cereal mix by a certain amount and by adding an approximately equal amount of sugar as a coating, an RTE cereal with reduced density and enhanced perceived sweetness is produced without having to increase the total amount of sugar in the cereal piece.